Reid Slowly Tortures Chris
by raspberry truffles
Summary: This is a future fic. Reid is dead, but his presence is still felt, particularly by Chris. The main characters are Chris and Luke with a little bit of Katie and Bob There is one implied sex scene.
1. Chapter 1

A/N This is a future fic as the present is too depressing for me to think about. Reid maybe dead but he still managed to make his presence felt. Please let me know what you think as I am a pretty nervous about this one. I miss Reid! This one didn't go the way I had planned either. i hope that you like it.

Six months after Reid's death Luke was just starting to come out of his grief. He was still mourning Reid deeply, but he was starting to notice that life was still going on around him.

He was still living at the farm so that every morning he could go out to the pond and talk quietly with Reid. He was looking forward to the summer when he could finally take that swim with Reid. He was planning to have picnics with Reid where he would make himself one of Reid's disgusting sandwiches and he would try to eat it all. These were the kinds of things that he looked forward to now.

He knew that his parents were worried about him. His mother had even tried to fix him up with someone new. Even Holden was getting impatient with him and kept insisting that Reid would have wanted Luke to be happy and move on. Luke knew in his heart that his dad was at least half right, Reid would have wanted Luke to be happy, but he was none to sure that Reid would have wanted Luke to move on with someone else. Both of his parents had suggested that he try to work things out with Noah, but Luke had no interest in reconnecting with Noah in any kind of relationship, other than friendship.

In the past six months Luke did little other than work at the foundation and at the Snyder-Oliver Pavilion. He had managed to divest himself of his interest in Grimaldi shipping with the help of Lucinda. He was happy to be done with all things Grimaldi and he felt lighter than he had in a while when he left the shipping company for the last time.

Luke still worked for the foundation, but his main focus, after Reid's death, was the Snyder-Oliver Neurosurgery Wing. He had insisted on being part of the team that would ultimately hire the neurosurgeon who would take on Reid's dream job. It was very important to Luke to make sure that the person they hired was worthy of Reid's position.

Bob had agreed to let Luke in on the decision making process at a moment of weakness. He had assumed that Luke would be a passive participant in the proceedings as he had no medical background. He soon found out that Luke was anything but passive in the hiring phase, and in fact found fault with each candidate, primarily because they weren't Reid. Unfortunately, Bob couldn't get rid of Luke, because Luke was still the one providing 80% of the funding so his hands were tied.

Bob was really at a loss as to how to deal with a grieving Luke, who was so unreasonable. He tried many different strategies in order to get Luke to agree to a particularly talented surgeon, but Luke would not budge. Bob tried everything he could think of from cajoling Luke, to placating Luke to arguing forcefully with Luke. Nothing worked. The reason for this was fairly simple. Luke remembered how cold Bob had been to Luke right after Reid had died. He remembered that Bob's concern was only for his son and not for Reid, when Reid had needed Bob the most. For these reasons, Luke saw no need to make life easier for Bob.

Bob, finally realized that Luke was simply not going to agree to any of his candidates so he decided that it was time for him to step down and let his son Chris take over. He was hopeful that his son would have more luck with Luke than he had.

Just as things were starting to change inside of Luke as his grief diminished, ever so slightly, and he began to imagine that one day he might be able to move on from Reid. Things began to noticeably change inside of Chris as well. Ever since he had gotten Reid's heart he had worried that he might take on some of Reid's loathsome personality traits. He knew that he should be grateful to Reid, but he had hated him so much in life that it was difficult to have that burden after his death. He knew that Katie had loved Reid, albeit in a platonic, sisterly way, but he knew that he had to watch himself around Katie as she wanted him to give thanks to Reid everyday. Like that was ever going to happen Chris thought to himself. Chris was grudgingly thankful to Reid, but he also felt that he would have been okay even without all of Reid's heroics. Chris rationalized that these were the cards that he had been given and so he would make the best of it.

Nine months to the day that Chris got his heart transplant; Bob called him into the office. Chris was pretty certain that his dad was finally going to step down and name him as chief of staff. He felt elated as he headed off to find his father's office.

As soon as he stepped in to the room, he knew that he had been correct because not only was his dad there, but also Tom, Margo, Katie, Jacob, and his mom. "Congratulations Son, you are officially named the chief of staff at Memorial," Bob intoned.

"Thanks Dad" Chris responded "this means so much to me, especially coming from you!"

As the other family members stood and hugged him, Chris's enthusiasm began to wain. 'Something doesn't feel right about this' Chris realized suddenly, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"I had asked Luke, to join us, but he politely declined." Bob said. "I'm quite worried about him. I don't understand why he is still so affected by Reid's death."

Chris stood stock still. 'What is going on with me today? Why did my heart skip a beat when my dad mentioned Luke's name? Oh my god it did it again'

"Is everything alright, Chris?" Bob asked with concern as Chris had suddenly gone white.

"I'm fine, Dad" Chris tried to smile. "I'm just a little overwhelmed by all this. It is a big honour and a big responsibility."

"Yes it is, but I wouldn't have recommended you for the job if I didn't think that you could handle it."

"Oh I wish Reid could be here too. He would be so proud of you Chris. He'd be so glad that you were successful at becoming chief of staff! Chris, what is it? You just went pale are you sure that you are feeling okay?"

"I'm fine. I just can't imagine Reid being happy for me." Chris smiled wanly. 'Oh my god, what is happening to me, my heart literally pulled when Katie said his name and did it again when I said it.'

Chris decided it was best to just ignore these twinges and enjoy the celebration. He was really excited about being the big boss of the hospital. Everyone had a glass of champagne to celebrate and then went to the Lakeview for a celebratory dinner.

"Is Luke joining us for dinner at the Lakeview, Bob?" Katie asked as Chris's heart began to flutter.

"I certainly hope so" Bob replied with a frown on his face. "It would be very rude of him not to come and show his support for Chris."

"I agree" replied Kim. "It would be very rude, if Luke didn't come at all."

"I won't be offended if he is unable to make it," Chris said. "This is probably a difficult day for him."

"That's nonsense" Tom said, emphatically "he should be able to put aside his personal feelings to congratulate you on your new position."

"Let's not push him, you know how sensitive he can be." Chris said and everyone laughed at that.

Truthfully, Chris hoped that Luke would just stay away from him. 'If the mere mention of his name was making his heart jump, he worried about what would happen if he saw him in person.'

"You're so considerate, Chris and that's why I love you" Katie said smiling radiantly.

Chris just smiled weakly back at her.

As luck would have it, you know who, did not come to the Lakeview. His family complained about this some more, but mercifully they stopped saying his name and Chris's heart settled down and he was able to enjoy the celebration.

The next day when Chris woke up, he felt great. Very relaxed and he was sure that whatever had caused his heart to respond to** his** name would have stopped by now. Chris wasn't quite ready to test this theory, but he was confident that everything would be fine.

As he walked into the hospital, Chris was greeted with congratulations and warm smiles from his staff. He quickly went to what was now his office and was pleased to see that it was his name that now adorned the door.

He was in the middle of finishing up some paper work when there was a light knock on the door.

"Come in, please' Chris called out. A moment later the door opened and his dad walked in.

"Hi Dad, come on in" Chris said gesturing for his father to have a seat.

"Chris, we need to talk. One of your most difficult tasks as chief of staff is going to be dealing with Luke. I have had absolutely no luck in having him agree to a neurosurgery candidate for the new wing. I am afraid that he might never agree to anyone."

"Well it will be nearly impossible to find anyone as good as Reid" he replied, surprising himself as much as his father. 'Where did that come from?'

"Reid was an amazing surgeon, but he was hardly a god. Everyone can be replaced" Bob said kindly.

"Bastard" muttered Chris.

"I beg your pardon? Don't call Reid a bastard in front of Luke or you won't get anywhere with him." Bob warned.

Chris let out a snort of laughter, "I won't" he assured his father, knowing full well that he had unconsciously been referring to his father, not Reid. What he didn't know was why.

"When is my next meeting with Luke scheduled for?" Chris heard himself ask.

"Today at 3, that is if he shows up. Well if he doesn't let me know and maybe we can finally get him removed from the decision making process."

"I'm sure that everything will work out Dad. Please don't worry."

"Good luck, Chris"

Luke was dreading the meeting with Chris. He still blamed him for Reid's death whether Chris deserved it or not. It just seemed so unfair to him that Chris got to have a full life with Katie and Jacob when Reid got nothing.

Everyone kept pestering Luke to get over Reid and on with his life, but Luke simply didn't know how to do that. Last night he was expected to go and celebrate Chris becoming the chief of staff, but how was he supposed to congratulate Chris for taking one more thing from Reid. No one acknowledged that the promotion coincided with the nine month anniversary of Reid's death and no one acknowledged that Reid deserved the position more than Chris ever would. Everyone just wanted Luke to forget about Reid like they had. Luke couldn't do it, he didn't even want to.

At exactly 3 o'clock Luke tapped lightly on Chris's door.

"Come in, please" Chris replied a little nervously. He was still worried about what reaction his heart might have to the sight of Luke.

Luke sighed and entered into Chris's office.

"Congratulations, Chris" Luke said wearily.

Chris smiled warmly at Luke "Thanks" he finally said. "Please have a seat." Chris was starting to relax as his heart remained remarkably calm. 'That's more like it' he smiled to himself 'I am back in control.'

Chris had gone through the candidates that his father had vetted and knew which ones were his choices, but to his surprise, once he and Luke started discussing the merits of the applicants he realized that the two they agreed on were most decidedly Reid like. Chris had initially dismissed them out of hand as being too Reid like. Somehow as he began discussing things with Luke, he found himself being persuaded by the blonde one.

This turn of events was most unsettling for him. He wanted Luke to go away and leave him alone so that he could contemplate this turn of events, but he also wanted Luke to stay as he felt comforted by his presence. 'Oh my god, where did that thought come from?'

Luke on the other hand was pleased at how well the discussions had gone. Chris was far more reasonable than Bob had ever been. Luke felt confident at last that they would be able to find a worthy candidate.

"Will you set up the interviews for us? Please send me the details so that I can be present for those meetings. I'm really glad that we were able to agree on the candidates." Luke smiled and got up to leave.

"I'll contact you with the details when everything is settled." Chris forced himself to say, when what he wanted to say was don't go, please stay. 'I'm losing my mind' Chris thought to himself.

"Bye Chris"

"See ya, Luke"

Chris quickly closed the door and took some calming breaths. He could feel that his heart was missing Luke. He finally knew why. It wasn't his heart, it truly was Reid's. 'The heart wants what the heart wants' a voice, not unlike Reid's whispered in his head.

'Okay, I need a plan. I must avoid Luke as much as possible' his heart clenched and Chris tried to ignore it. "I'll spend as much time with Katie as I can" he muttered aloud as if that might help. 'I'm going to phone her and arrange for us to have nice romantic night together. Sex with Katie, that's what I need!' But even as he thought it, his body betrayed him. He now found the idea of having sex with Katie somewhat distasteful. Instead, he tried to picture Luke naked.

Chris quickly shoved that image out of his head and called Katie.

He phoned Katie quickly.

"Hi Chris, are you coming home soon? I have a special evening planned for us." She said with a noticeable leer in her voice.

Chris actually felt himself recoil at the invitation in her voice. "Uh, no I really need to work late tonight. I think that I may have to sleep in the on call room. Sorry to disappoint you."

"That's okay Chris, I understand I'm sure you'll make it up to me soon!" she said in what Chris had always thought of as her sexy voice, but really it was just scary now.

'How am I going to avoid Katie? I just don't think that I can do that anymore.' Chris shuddered; he actually shuddered at the idea of having sex with Katie. 'Damn you, Reid what have you done to me? Am I gay now?' the only response he received was the sound of Reid chuckling inside his head.

For the next two and a half months Chris tried to maintain his relationship with Katie with out actually having to have sex with her. He was running out of excuses, Katie actually asked him to see "someone" about his problem. Ugh! He should probably just break up with her, but he just couldn't make himself do it.

At the same time he was outwardly trying to avoid Luke as well, except when he had to meet with him, but secretly he was practically stalking the blonde man. He couldn't stand being a part from Luke, but he was afraid to be with him at the same time. Luke was starting to notice Chris's bizarre behaviour toward him if the funny looks were anything to go by. Chris didn't know what to do.

Unfortunately, Chris had more pressing things to worry about. He and Luke had managed to hire a neurosurgeon to run the new wing and they were having a grand opening in less than two weeks. It was on the first anniversary of Reid's death, and Luke had insisted that the party be on that day to honour him. Chris had been unable to refuse Luke. It was terrifying the power his brown eyes had over Chris.

As the date of the party grew closer Chris got more and more agitated.

"What's wrong with you?" Katie asked reasonably the night before the big event.

"Nothing" Chris replied, terrified that she was going to pressure him for sex.

"Are you worried about the party tomorrow night?" Katie tried again.

"Yes, it's a lot of pressure. I really want it to go well in order to honour Reid" he blurted out before he could stop himself.

"Ah Chris, that's so sweet of you. You deserve a very special reward for that" she said in her scary sexy voice. "I'll be right back!" she teased/warned.

'Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god she is definitely going to expect something from me tonight. I'll get into bed and pretend to be asleep. Hopefully that will head her off' he thought hopefully.

Chris was trapped. He was going to have to perform tonight or Katie was going to haul his ass to a specialist.

So Chris did what he had to do. He had sex with Katie while he fantasized about Luke. Thinking about Luke was so erotic that he accidentally called out Luke when he came.

"Did you just call out Luke's name while you were in bed with me?" Katie said astonished.

'I am going to hell' he thought hearing Reid's self satisfied smirk in his head.

"No, of course not, why would I do that? I called out you, because I love you Katie" Chris tried desperately to placate her.

"Alright, I'll let it go, but don't do it again! My name is Katie and that's what I want to hear, okay?"

"Yes, Katie" he said with a smile.

The day of the opening had arrived and Luke was feeling nervous and excited. He really wanted tonight to go well so that everyone could celebrate Reid's accomplishments. He knew that many people would not think of tonight in that way, but he would and that was what mattered to him. Tonight was his way of saying a public good-bye to Reid. He felt that he was finally ready to move on and at least think about being with someone new. He knew that he would always love Reid, but sadly Reid was dead and Luke really needed to rejoin the living. So tonight was an ending for Luke, as well as a beginning.

Luke was starting to worry about Chris. He hadn't seen much of the other man in the last three months, but every time he happened to run into Chris he felt himself being watched. It was creepy. It always felt like Chris was cruising him, which of course wasn't possible as Chris was straight. None the less, it made Luke very uncomfortable. He hoped that Chris would just leave him alone tonight.

As soon as Luke walked into the ballroom he felt people staring at him. He was used to that and it didn't really bother him. He knew without turning around that Chris was staring at him with that weird, haunted look of wanting. Luke didn't want to have to deal with Chris tonight so he decided that he would just ignore the other man and work the room.

Chris couldn't tear his eyes away from Luke, he was so beautiful tonight. Luke was wearing a custom made black tuxedo with a crisp white linen shirt and a black bow tie and cumber bun. Chris had never seen anyone look as perfect as Luke Snyder.

"Who are you staring at?" Katie asked pointedly.

"Uh…no one, I was just thinking of you" he smiled weakly at her.

Katie didn't buy it, she followed Chris's sight line and saw to her surprise that Chris had been staring at Luke.

"Oh my god, Chris you were staring at Luke Snyder! You're in love with Luke!" Katie screamed hysterically as everyone, including Luke turned to stare at the couple.

"Katie, I can explain…" he pleaded with her quietly.

"Explain? You called out Luke when we were having sex last night. Explain that" she demanded.

Bob, trying to maintain some semblance of decorum quickly walked over to his son. "So Chris are you gay? It's okay to be gay, you know" he said gently trying desperately to diffuse the situation.

"I'm not gay, Dad" Chris began.

"Well you're not straight either. You won't have sex with me for months, and then when you finally do you call out Luke's name! Call me crazy, but I think that may be a sign that you're gay." Katie hollered.

Bob put a comforting hand on Chris's shoulder.

"It's not me, Dad it's Reid" Chris tried to explain.

Bob just gazed back at him with a patronizing look on his face.

"I know it sounds crazy, but Reid is in my head and his heart belongs to Luke"

Luke had come over to Chris and Katie to hear this latest development. "Can't you feel the pull of Reid's heart when you are near me? I can feel it. I can feel it right now. There is a special warmth that floods my body whenever you are close to me. Don't you feel it too?"

"No, I felt that when I was with Reid, though."

"Well, his heart still feels it, believe me. It won't let me go. He really loved you Luke."

"I know" Luke whispered back. "I really loved him too."

"I have never felt this way about anybody before. It's almost painful to be separated from you. Oh my god. Is this why it is so hard for you to get over Reid? I am so sorry, I had no idea."

"Well, you must have had some idea; you knew that they were in love. It can't be a total surprise" Katie sniped at Chris.

"I've been in love before, I have never felt like this before. My god, I feel like Luke is the other half of my soul. I feel completely alive and whole when I'm near Luke. Oh thank god I've figured it out. We can be together, just the two of us from now on."

"No, we can't Chris. I don't want to be with you. Reid was my soul mate and you are decidedly not Reid." Luke replied.

"But…but…I'll never feel whole without you. What am I supposed to do?"

"The same thing that I've had to do, move onto something else."

"I can't, I don't want anyone else, just you, forever."

"I'm sorry Chris, but I don't want you at all, ever."


	2. Chapter 2

Title- The Torture Continues

Characters- Luke, Reid's heart, Chris, Katie, Bob, Tom, Lily and Holden.

This is a sequel to Reid Slowly Tortures Chris and should be read as such. This was getting too long and so I have split it into two parts.

Rating PG 13 for language, angry Luke tends to drop the F-bomb with alarming regularity.

Setting: This is a future fic that starts on the one year anniversary of Reid's death.

Warning: If you are a fan of Chris this is probably not the fic for you. I am still bitter about how Luke was treated after Reid died, and Luke surprisingly feels the same way, therefore some characters will be treated with more hostility than they ever were on the show.

Disclaimer: These are not my characters.

All mistakes are mine.

Please let me know what you think.

As soon as he had rejected Chris, Luke turned on his heel and left the building. Luke held his head high but made sure that he avoided eye contact with everyone in the room. His only mission was to get as far away from Chris Hughes as he possibly could.

Luke made it all the way to his car before he heard his mother call his name. "Fuck" he muttered to himself. He was not up to having a conversation with his mother or anyone else, so he pretended not to hear Lily and unlocked the car and drove away. He knew that he would have to deal with this situation later but he just couldn't face it now.

As soon as Luke pulled out of the parking lot his phone began to ring. "Fuck" he called out in frustration "leave me the fuck alone" he yelled at his phone, as it continued to ring. As soon as the phone was silenced, Luke quickly picked it up and turned it off so that he could avoid all calls. He only hoped that no one would follow him to the farm.

Luke parked his car as close to the pond as he could. He desperately needed to talk to Reid and while he often felt Reid's presence with him, the feeling was so much stronger at the pond where Luke had scattered most of the other man's ashes. Right now he needed to feel as close to Reid as he possibly could.

"Hey Reid" Luke began speaking in a reasonably calm voice "well tonight was a total disaster. Can you guess why?"

Luke waited and heard Reid's deep voice reply in his head "did Chris Hughes manage to fuck things up?"

"Ding, ding ding! Chris Hughes completely ruined the night. I so wanted to say good-bye to you in a public way – a way that would honour you and treat your memory with the respect that it deserves. That wing is yours, Reid, in many ways it is the one tangible thing that I have left of you. I want people to always remember that this wing was your vision and holds all of your passion."

"Well, not all of my passion, Luke, not the most important part. That belongs to you" Luke could almost hear Reid whisper back to him.

"I know that Reid, but that is private, that will always be with me and I will cherish that always" Luke responded feeling his anger begin to dissipate.

Luke took in a deep breath and began telling Reid all of the sordid revelations that had come out at tonight's festivities. He could hear Reid laugh out loud when Luke repeated the news that Chris had called out Luke's name at a pivotal moment when Chris and Katie had been making love. Now that Luke was calmer, he could see the humour in the situation. He even felt a bit sorry for Katie that she had had to suffer such public humiliation. "Fuck Chris Hughes" he said loudly, some of his anger returning, "he just ruins everything. How can one person be so selfish? He didn't deserve your heart, Reid; I really wish that he hadn't gotten it."

Just then he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. Luke jumped at the unexpected touch and turned around to see his parents, Lily and Holden standing next to him.

"What are you guys doing here?" Luke asked the anger clearly apparent in his voice.

"We were worried about you, Baby. We needed to make sure that you were okay," Lily responded.

Luke gaped at his parents, "how could I possibly be okay? Fucking Chris Hughes ruined the dedication of Reid's wing."

"Language Luke," Holden cautioned. "Just because you are upset does not give you the right to swear in front of your mother."

Luke just rolled his eyes at his parents. "You came to find me, I didn't invite you here. I just want to be alone with Reid."

"I understand, Baby, but you do know that Reid is gone. He's not really here with you. You know that right?" Lily asked the concern etched into her face.

"Of course, I know that, I'm grieving, I'm not delusional."

"It's been a year since Reid died, Luke you really need to move on. This isn't healthy for you to feel so much pain," Holden cautioned his son. "We heard what Chris said to you tonight, that he loves you, that he loves you the way that Reid loved you. Don't you think that you might want to explore that?"

"Are you fucking kidding me? Fucking Chris Hughes killed Reid and ruined my life. I don't want to have any type of relationship with him and to suggest that he could take Reid's place in my heart is truly disturbing to me. Get the hell out of here. Both of you, I just want to be alone with Reid."

"Geez Luke, watch your language. Please just think about what I have said. We love you, Luke, we just want you to be happy," Holden finished, clearly worried about Luke's behaviour.

"It's true, Luke. All we want is for you to be happy and whole. Please think about what your father has said.

"Please just go," Luke said wearily. Noting that his parents weren't leaving he added the lie "I promise that I will consider what you have said."

His parents both beamed at Luke convinced that they had gotten through to him at last.

"Bye Baby," Lily said and then hugged him. "I love you."

Holden then embraced his son and the three said their good-byes.

Meanwhile back at the neurology wing opening Bob was doing his best to keep the evening going. This was no small task, as Luke, the largest donor and tonight's key note speaker, had just walked off in a huff and Chris, the current chief of staff, was having a meltdown of epic proportions. Bob relied on his years of experience of hospital business and soldiered on. Bob gave a rather generic speech about the value of the Snyder-Oliver Pavilion. He spoke of the brilliance of Dr. Oliver who had been the designer of the state of the art wing. He then introduced the man, Dr. Blake Norman, who was the new head of the wing. Fortunately for Bob, he was the one scheduled speaker who was prepared and completely unaffected by the current drama affecting Luke and Chris.

Bob only listened to the very beginning of Dr. Norman's speech. As soon as he was convinced that the neurosurgeon was on track Bob tuned out the speaker. Bob took his time walking over to where his son was sitting with Kim. He was really displeased with the way that Chris had handled this situation, especially given the fact that Chris was the Chief of Staff at Memorial. For the first time since the appointment of Chris to this position, Bob wondered if perhaps Susan Stewart would have been the wiser choice.

Bob sighed deeply to himself as he approached his wife and son. "Christopher, what in the hell has gotten into you this evening? This behaviour is completely unbecoming of someone in your position."

"I'm sorry Dad, but it's not my fault" Chris whined.

"It seems that Chris is having complications from the heart transplant," Kim began, defending her son, as she always did. "Chris's heart or rather Reid's heart is still very much drawn to Luke, which has put undue pressure on our poor Christopher."

"Well Christopher, I can understand that this must be confusing for you, but tonight was not the right time to bring any of these issues up. You should have talked to Luke in a much more private setting. Now, I'm not saying that this is all your fault, Luke behaved appallingly as well. He should never have walked out of this event without giving his speech."

"Did you hear what Luke said to me? It's seems like he hates me. What am I going to do? I don't think that I can live without him. I don't feel complete unless he is in the room with me. Do you know what that's like?"

"Now dear, I'm sure that Luke doesn't hate you. You are a wonderful person; no one could possibly hate you. Luke was probably just overwhelmed by your outpouring of emotion. I'm sure that once he has a chance to process all that you said to him, he will be thrilled to be a part of your life. I only hope that he is worthy of you dear," Kim said kindly.

"Do you really think so, Mom?"

"Of course I do, now pull yourself together you still have some schmoozing to do."

Chris felt much better after talking to his parents. Surely his mom was right and that Luke was just surprised by his declaration of love. Feeling much better about things Chris was able to work the room and even managed to close the night with the speech he had prepared. His only regret was that Luke wasn't here to share the moment with him. He knew with certainty that Luke would have enjoyed the speech and been proud of him.

Luke had managed to avoid almost everyone he knew for about a month after the debacle at the opening for the neurological wing. He was happy that everyone was giving him a wide berth. Whether it was because they were embarrassed by the spectacle that Chris had made of the evening or that they just didn't know what to say to him anymore, he neither knew nor cared. He was just relieved to be left alone.

Even his parents were largely ignoring him and focusing on their own drama. Holden was still trying to work things out with Molly, and Lily was still trying to work things out with Holden. At this point, Luke was finding it hard to care who ended up with whom.

Sure he wanted his parents to be happy, he just couldn't work up the energy to try to help them be happy.

Luke was working mostly from home these days. With the neuro wing done he had less to do at the foundation. He was still approving grants but his heart wasn't in it the way it had been before Reid had died.

With less to do with the foundation, Luke found that he had more time on his hands than he was comfortable with. He decided that he would start writing again. Writing had always been one of his passions and right now he needed somewhere to focus all of his energy.

One day as he was busy writing in his journal, he was jolted by the sound of someone knocking on his front door. Curious to see who was at the front door, Luke ambled up to get it. He was shocked to see Katie standing in front of him.

"Hi, Katie, what brings you here?" Luke asked rather coldly.

"Hi Luke, I came to see you. I wanted to see how you were holding up."

"I'm fine, but I'm busy so if that is all I'd like to get back to my work."

"Uh…can I please come in? I wanted to talk to you. We used to be friends and I miss you and I miss Reid."

"Sure, come on in," Luke said not wanting to be too rude. "How have you been?"

"I'm alright. Chris and I broke up as I'm sure you know."

"I wasn't sure. I'm sorry if I had any role in your break-up."

"Are you and Chris together, now?"

Luke looked at Katie in astonishment, "Katie, Chris and I will never be together. I am not now, nor could I ever become attracted to him. Why do you ask?"

"Chris came to pick up his stuff from my place about a week ago now, and he indicated that he very much wanted a future with you."

"Well, he may want a future with me, but I certainly don't want one with him. I still blame him for Reid's death and I think that I probably always will."

"Oh Luke, you can't really believe that it was Chris's fault, can you? It was an accident, a tragic accident but it was no one's fault. Luke you can't allow yourself to be eaten up with hate. It's not good for you, and Reid wouldn't want you to live like this. You must know that."

"Katie, I am trying to get over my hate for Chris, but I certainly do blame him. Yes Reid was driving the car and made a stupid decision to outrun a train, but he wouldn't have been there in the first place if Chris had gotten the medical care that he needed when he first became ill."

"He did get care. He asked Reid to help him, if things got out of control. I can't help but think that Reid is the one at fault, not Chris."

"Are you kidding me? Katie, Reid helped Chris because he accidentally found out about Chris's condition and couldn't walk away. He begged Chris to get an MRI and to see a cardiologist, but Chris refused, forcing Reid to treat him "off the books". Do you know that Reid had to treat Chris at the Lakeview, because Chris didn't want to risk being seen at the hospital? Reid only admitted to me that he was treating Chris on the sly because I knew that he was lying to me and Reid wasn't willing to hurt our relationship because of stupid Chris."

"Why did Reid agree to treat Chris if it was such a burden?" Katie asked. She had been unaware of the lengths that Reid had gone to in order to treat Chris, someone she knew Reid didn't even like.

"He did it for you, Katie. He was worried that you wouldn't be able to handle Chris dying on you so soon after Brad. He pleaded with Chris to tell you and his parents, but Chris stubbornly refused."

"My God, Reid really did love me didn't he? I knew that he cared about me, but I would never expect him to go to such lengths to protect me. Wow. I'm so ashamed that I didn't appreciate him more. My God, I didn't even manage to go to his funeral. I'm so sorry Luke."

"No one came to the funeral," Luke said pointedly. "The only people there were my mom, dad, Noah and me."

"Oh Luke, I'm so sorry, no wonder you were so upset with me. I wanted to come, but I was busy looking after Chris."

"Yeah Katie I understand that, but it seemed to me that everyone who was busy tending to Chris could have at least taken a moment to acknowledge that Chris lived because Reid died."

"What can I do to help you now? Is it too late? I've missed having you in my life and I would really like to find away back to our friendship."

"Thanks Katie, I don't need any help right now, but I will let you know if that changes."

Katie recognized Luke's words as the dismissal that they were and so she took the hint and turned to leave, hoping that Luke would call her when he was ready.

It had been a month since Chris had seen Luke and declared his love. Chris was starting to go crazy, wondering why Luke hadn't gotten in touch with him. Chris had not tried to contact Luke yet because he was trying to give the younger man time to process his feelings toward Chris. The waiting was killing him. Chris was unable to sleep and eat and his job performance was suffering as a result. The other day he had prescribed too much medication for one of his younger patients. Fortunately a nurse had caught his mistake or the child might have died.

With this knowledge, Chris decided that it was time to talk to Luke to see when they could get together and start their new life. Once resolved with this course of action, Chris excitedly picked up the phone and called Luke.

Luke finally answered the ringing phone, which Chris took to be an encouraging sign.

"Hello" Luke answered.

"Hi Luke," Chris responded shyly. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine Chris," Luke responded somewhat harshly. "What do you want?"

"Uh…I was hoping that we could get together for dinner, and uh… get to know each other a little better."

"I don't want to know you any better than I do. Good bye," Luke finished, and hung up hoping that Chris would leave him alone.

Chris was devastated by Luke's reaction. He sat at his desk at Memorial, just staring out into space wondering what his next move should be.

Tom walked into Chris's office as Chris was sitting there staring blankly into space.

"What's wrong, Chris? You look awful. Is there anything that I can do to help you?"

Chris just continued to stare as though he were in shock. Tom was about to call for help when Chris spoke, so quietly he was almost inaudible, "it's Luke," Chris managed to choke out.

"What about Luke? Is he sick? Is he in danger?" Tom asked, because when it came to Luke Snyder anything was possible.

"He hates me."

"What? Why would Luke hate you?" Tom was about to ask why he would care when Tom remembered that Chris had told the family that he was in love, deep soul crushing love, with Luke.

"I don't know why he hates me. I think that he might blame me for Reid's death, but I'm not sure why. I don't know what to do Tom. How can I live without him?"

"Wow, so you really are gay now aren't you? It seems that Reid gave you more than just his heart."

"I don't know if I'm gay or not, I only know that I am in love with Luke. He's my soul mate, of that I am sure."

"Do you want to have sex with him? If you do I would think that that was a pretty good indicator."

"I don't know. I've never really considered the logistics of having sex with Luke," but even as he thought about it his heart started hammering in his chest like crazy. He had never felt this way before, not with Katie or with anyone else.

"I think that I do want to have sex with him, at least my heart does."

"You mean Reid's heart wants to have sex with Luke?"

"Yes."

"Well, little brother, I'm sure that Luke will have sex with you. He's a guy and there aren't many gay men in Oakdale so I'm sure that you won't have a hard time convincing him. I'll talk to him for you if you would like me to."

"Do you really think that you could convince him to give me a chance?"

"Hey, I'm a lawyer. I get paid to persuade people to do things they have no desire to do. We both know that Luke wants to have sex; we just need to convince him that he wants to have sex with you. No problem."

"I don't just want to have sex with him, I want a relationship with him. I don't think that I can live without him, Tom."

"Alright, I can see that you have it bad for Luke, I will figure out a strategy and go and see him when I have it all figured out, okay?"

"Thanks Tom, you're the best."

A few days later Tom found himself knocking on Luke's door. He was really worried about his brother Chris and was sure that he could convince Luke to give Chris a chance. His brother was a great guy. Luke would be lucky to be a part of Chris's life. Tom just had to find the right words to convince the younger man. He had thought about how to approach Luke for the last few days and he decided that the personal touch was required, which was why he had decided to just show up.

Luke answered the door eventually when he realized that whoever was knocking at his door was not going to leave without an answer. To say Luke was shocked to see Tom standing there would be an understatement.

"Hi Luke, how are you?" Tom said as he pushed past Luke and entered the house.

"What the hell are you doing here, Tom?"

"Well, I've been concerned about you, we all have. We know that you have had a rough time since Reid….passed away. I wanted to see if there was any way that I could help you," Tom said trying his best to ingratiate himself with Luke.

"Reid has been dead for over a year Tom, why the sudden concern?"

"It's not sudden, Luke, please don't think that it is. I've just been busy and now seemed like a good time to come and check on you."

"You know what I'm wondering, Tom?" Luke asked, pausing dramatically for maximum impact. Tom was starting to think that this mission wasn't going to be as easy as he had planned. He didn't like the look that was on Luke's face. It looked almost like hate, but that was ridiculous, surely Luke had no reason to hate him.

"I'm wondering where all of this concern for my well being was when Reid died? Do you remember how you treated me right after Reid died? You pressured me into donating Reid's heart to Chris seconds after Reid died. Do you have any idea how that felt? You didn't show any compassion or any caring toward me then and I don't want any from you now."

"Wait Luke, you have to understand, Chris was going to die and Reid had offered his heart. I knew that the heart needed to be transplanted quickly in order for it to be viable. Reid was dead, but Chris still had a chance to live. You know in your heart that that's what Reid wanted."

"How dare you stand there, in my house, telling me what Reid wanted, when you didn't even know him, do you have any idea how insulting that is? You make me sick. Get the fuck out of my house," Luke yelled at Tom, grabbed his arm and began pushing him toward the door.

When Tom reached the door, he turned back and looked at Luke with pity in his eyes. "Luke, I really think that you should get some counselling to get over this misplaced anger."

"GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE AND DON'T EVER COME BACK!"

Tom shook his head softly and opened the door only to find Casey standing there with his mouth hanging open.

"Dude, what's going on here? Why are you yelling at my dad like that? That is so not cool."

"Casey what are you doing here? Why aren't you at home in Carbondale?" Luke asked.

"Son, I think that maybe we should just go home," Tom said at the same time.

"Dad we're staying until we sort this out. No one should speak to you that way and I know that Luke wouldn't unless he had a really good reason. Luke is my best friend and I want to sort this out." Casey said firmly ushering his father back into Luke's house with him. "Luke, it's reading week for me at college and I thought that I would take the time to come home and see you. I'm worried about you; we hardly ever speak any more. I want my friend back. Now what's going on?"

"Well I came over to check on Luke, The family has been quite concerned about him for a long time. He hasn't really been himself since Reid died and I wanted to see if there was anything that I could do to help," Tom stated reasonably, he thought it best not to bring Chris's name into things while Luke was so inexplicably upset.

Casey, knowing his father, felt there was something left out of the explanation. "So do you often come over to check on Luke? Have you two become friends?"

Luke snorted "No this is the first time I've seen him since the day he badgered me into donating Reid's heart for Chris," Luke answered bitterly.

"Luke, I don't think that you are being fair. I'm sure that my father treated you with the delicacy and respect that the situation warranted."

"You weren't there," Luke answered coldly. "There was no one looking after Reid, no one even tried to save him. I kissed him and a monitor went off and Bob and John just declared him dead and did nothing to try and save him. I begged them to help him, but they refused, declaring Reid's case hopeless."

"They didn't even try to save him? Not at all?" Casey asked feeling shocked.

"Reid had a DNR, it was all perfectly legal, Casey," Tom said defending his father and John.

"What did they say to you when you begged them to help Reid?"

"John and Bob just ignored me and turned off the machines that were keeping Reid alive, and then Tom started talking about Reid wanting to donate his heart to Chris. I kept saying no because I was distressed, but Tom kept pushing me until I finally agreed to sign the papers" Luke said tears streaming down his face as he remembered that terrible day.

"Is that true, Dad? Did you talk about organ donation right after Reid died?" Casey asked clearly shocked by his father's behaviour.

"Reid had said that he wanted to donate his heart to Chris and Chris was close to death. I couldn't afford to be considerate of Luke's feelings, because I had to do everything to save Chris. He's my brother, don't you get that?"

"Dad, Reid was Luke's soul mate; my God I can't believe that you would treat another human being so callously, not to mention Luke who you have known for most of his life. Luke I am so sorry, I had no idea. I remember you complaining about how you were being treated that day, but I honestly thought that you were over reacting, but I see now that you weren't," Casey said and walked over to give Luke a hug. "I'm so sorry that I wasn't there for you. God, I didn't even make it to Reid's funeral. I wanted to go, but the whole family was tied up with Chris's recovery. Wow, that was really lame, no wonder you haven't been speaking to me."

"It's okay Casey, I know that Chris is your uncle, it just really bothered me that none of the Hughes family showed up to pay their respects for Reid. They treated him like he was disposable and he really, really wasn't."

"Well we all know that Reid was a hero, and we all really respected him, Luke. I told everyone how great he was while Chris was getting his heart, and I meant it." Tom explained, like that would make everything all right.

"Reid wasn't a fucking hero, he made a stupid mistake, trying to outrun a train. That's not heroic, that was moronic. The worst part is that it was all so unnecessary. Chris didn't even deserve a new heart, let alone Reid's heart."

"What do you mean, Luke? He would have died without a transplant. Surely you don't wish him dead."

"I wouldn't have really cared if Chris had died. He caused this whole situation. He refused to get help when he first realized that he was ill. He forced Reid to treat him and cover for him. Reid helped Chris because he was a great doctor, and because of his love for Katie, not for stupid Chris."

"That can't be true, it just can't be. I mean Chris is a doctor, he would have known that he needed to get help," Casey said feeling like he had been punched in the stomach.

"Well some of that is true. Chris didn't seek medical attention as early as he could have, but that was because he was worried about losing out on the chief of staff job to Reid. He didn't feel that he could appear weak," Tom explained patiently to Casey.

"So he thought that he stood a better chance of getting the job if he died? What about his family, didn't he care that what he was doing would have devastated us? What a moron."

"Chris is a good man, Casey. Yes he made some unwise choices, but in his defence he didn't want to worry us unnecessarily."

"It wasn't unnecessarily though was it? Did you know he had sex with Katie which could have easily killed him? How do you think Katie would have felt if he died like that?" Luke asked accusingly. "Now that he has Reid's heart he has decided that he is in love with me. He humiliated Katie at the dedication ceremony and he defiled Reid's memory. Do you know that he had the gall to call me up and ask me out? He is the most selfish person on the planet."

Casey looked at his father and suddenly knew why Tom was here. "Oh my God, you came to plead Chris's case with Luke, didn't you?"

Tom at least had the good sense to look sheepish, "yes I did. Look Luke, Chris is a good man and he is really suffering. He feels connected to you in a way that he has never felt connected to anyone else. I think that if you let yourself you and Chris could have a really good life together. He would absolutely be devoted to you. I have never seen him like this before. He says that he only feels whole when he is near you. He knows that this is difficult for you and he has tried to give you space. I think that it would be best for everyone if you just gave him a chance. He's even willing to have sex with you," Tom finished triumphantly, sure that this would seal the deal for Luke.

"GET THE FUCK OUT OF LUKE'S HOUSE AND DON'T COME BACK. JESUS CHRIST DAD HAVE YOU LOST YOUR FUCKING MIND? GET THE FUCK OUT!"

Tom just gaped at his son, but he did as he was told and quickly left Luke's house. He would have to deal with Casey later. Really why was Casey so upset, he wondered to himself.

When Tom was securely out the door Casey immediately turned to Luke, "are you okay? Oh my God, I had no idea that my family was so awful to you. Has it been like this since Reid died?"

"No, I have pretty much managed to avoid everyone. I wanted to be alone to process my grief and no one wanted to deal with me while I was grieving. Everyone just wanted me to be fine, and I'm not," Luke replied with a shrug.

"Luke, you don't need to go through this alone. Tell me how I can help you, man."

Luke smiled at Casey. "Thanks, telling your dad off really helped, thanks for backing me up. I'm sure that wasn't easy for you."

"Are you kidding me? He was a acting like a fucking jerk. I can't believe he treated you so badly. Why would you ever want to be with Chris?"

"Thanks Casey, it's good to have you back," Luke said with the biggest smile that had appeared on his face since Reid had died.

"Now, how are we going to convince Chris to leave you the hell alone?"

"You don't think that he will just take the hint and give up?"

"Chris? No way, man he's way to arrogant and selfish. If he has decided that he wants you then he won't stop until he gets you. I'm sorta surprised that Granddad hasn't been by for a little talk."

"Oh my God, I don't think that I could handle Bob coming by and trying to convince me to give Chris a go."

"I know right, that's why we need a plan to put an end to his ridiculous fantasy."

"Maybe we should ask Katie if she has any ideas, after all she lived with the guy, he publically humiliated her, so I think that she would be willing to help us."

"Great idea, I'll call her now."

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Title: A Little Less Torture and a Little More Hope…For Luke

Characters: Luke, Reid's heart, Casey, Katie, Chris and Bob

Rating: NC 17 Explicit sex talk and language.

Summary: This is the third and final part of Reid Slowly Tortures Chris.

A/N Special thanks to Daniel Snyder for inspiration in this chapter.

Disclaimer: These are not my characters.

All mistakes are mine.

Please let me know what you think. Thanks for reading.

While Casey and Luke were waiting for Katie to come over, Casey decided that he needed a little background on the whole Chris situation. His parents had mentioned that Chris had developed feelings for Luke, as a side effect of the heart transplant, but it seemed like they had left out many of the pertinent details. He felt that it was necessary to have as many of the facts as possible if he were to help Luke.

"So Luke, what is going on between you and Chris?"

"Nothing," Luke responded, coldly.

"Come on, man I need some background information if I am going to be able to help you."

"Really Casey there is nothing going on between Chris and me," seeing the look on Casey's face Luke decided that he better tell Casey what little he knew. "Alright, all I know is that Chris claims that Reid's heart is still in love with me and this is causing Chris to feel like he is in love with me, but I don't return those feelings."

"How did he tell you about these feelings? Did he come over to your house to tell you? Did he tell you when you were meeting with him about the neuro wing?"

Luke breathed a deep sigh, "no, Chris decided to tell me at the dedication for the Snyder-Oliver Pavilion, in front of the whole town. It was humiliating for me and I imagine everyone else, especially Katie. Chris ruined the whole night," Luke finished, bitterly.

"Why was Katie so humiliated? Were they still together when he made his big announcement?"

"Yes they were still together, and Chris being Chris hadn't bothered to share what he was feeling with Katie. Katie apparently noticed that Chris was staring at me and put two and two together. She then revealed that Chris had called out my name during sex with her," Luke said blushing bright pink.

Casey just stared at Luke as he told his tale, and then he burst out laughing at the idea that Chris had called out Luke's name at a most inappropriate moment.

Just then the doorbell rang. Luke, still glaring at Casey's laughter, went to open the door and let Katie come in.

At the sight of Katie, Casey just laughed harder. He knew that he was being an ass, but he couldn't help it.

"What's with Casey?" Katie asked.

Luke actually blushed a deeper shade of pink, but couldn't bring himself to answer.

Casey managed to gasp out between bouts of laughter," Chris called out Luke at a pivotal moment while he was with you?"

"Thanks Luke, it wasn't enough for everyone in town to know what happened; now we're spreading it to Carbondale?"

Casey instantly sobered up and looked apologetically at both of them, "don't blame Luke, I made him tell me what happened so that we can figure out a way to diffuse the situation with Chris. All I knew was that Chris had developed some feelings for Luke and that my dad had come over here to try to convince Luke to give Chris a chance. I needed to know what else had happened."

"Sorry Katie, I wasn't trying to embarrass you further," Luke added.

"So what did you do when you heard Luke's name? Did you kick his sorry ass to the curb immediately?" Casey wanted to know.

"No…he uh…covered. He said that he called out 'you' meaning me obviously, and I believed him, because that's what I wanted to believe. He had been putting me off for months, constantly making excuses not to have sex with me. I thought that there was something wrong with me and so I increased my efforts to be attractive to him. Obviously, nothing worked, presumably because I wasn't Luke," she said bitterly, feeling awkward and uncomfortable admitting these things, even now when really everyone must have figured it out.

"I'm sorry that you had to go through that, Katie," Luke said, wrapping an arm around her to show his support.

"Finally, I realized that it wasn't me and I tried to get Chris to see a specialist. I thought that there must be something physically wrong with him. Chris put me off, of course, and just blamed his lack of interest on stress. I believed him, because it was easier than blaming myself. Finally, the night before the opening, I attacked him, hoping to relax him and that's when he called out Luke's name. While we were at the opening I caught him staring at you and that's when I realized why he was no longer attracted to me."

"Right," Casey interrupted, wanting to keep the conversation going, while not allowing Luke to feel to guilty and Katie not to feel to bitter. "There must have been some good things in your relationship, after all you were engaged, why don't you tell us about the happier times so that we can understand how Chris operates while he is in a relationship."

"Chris is very determined about getting what he wants. I remember when our relationship started that he wanted me to just be over Brad. He is the one that pushed me to take off my ring," she said sadly. "Looking back, I'm not sure that I was really ready to take that step, but Chris made it clear that I had to do it, and so I did."

""Wow, he sounds like kind of a bully, wasn't that a clue that maybe he wasn't the one?" Casey inquired.

"Yeah, I think that should have been a clue, but Chris can be incredibly charming and I really like being in love. Brad had been dead for several months by that time, and I really wanted to feel something other than sadness and Chris offered me that. In retrospect, I really think that Chris was never meant to be anything more than a transitional guy in my life. I feel like a complete idiot. The best thing that has come out of that relationship is that I now feel really ready to move on to someone new."

"Okay, so let's recap, Chris is a bit of a bully, charming, and ultimately dishonest, is that about right?" Casey asked.

"Yes, but he really did help me to get over Brad. He gave me that final push so that while Brad will always be a part of me, I know now that I can love again without losing him. Does that make any sense?"

"Yeah, Katie it does," Luke responded giving Katie a little hug.

"Do you think that maybe being with Chris would help you get over the loss of Reid? I mean I know that Chris isn't the greatest guy, but he does seem incredibly sincere when he talks about the love that he feels for you. He seems completely in awe of the connection he feels for you because of the pull of Reid's heart. Don't you think that it's worth exploring on some level?"

"Dude, Katie makes a good point. I know that you are not in love with Chris, but it is hard to walk away from someone who has such intense feelings for you. Since it's Reid's heart you might even feel like you are with him, and not really Chris."

Luke looked at his friends who both had such hopeful expressions on their faces, that instead of feeling pressured he felt supported.

"I could never, ever be with Chris," Luke began quietly. "If I'm honest there is a part of me, maybe even a large part of me that wants to be with Chris, simply because he has Reid's heart. My God, it's Reid's heart! When Chris talks about how he feels about me it almost feels like Reid is reaching out for me begging me to be with him, even if it is only through Chris."

Katie and Casey nodded encouragingly at Luke, who looked so distraught as he explained this to them.

"I could never use Chris that way; it would just be far too cruel to have a relationship with him for just to be closer to Reid. If I were with Chris under these circumstances and then somehow fell in love with Chris that would kill me. Chris has already taken so much from Reid, first Reid's life, then his heart and finally his job. If I let myself be with Chris the burden of betrayal would be too great for me to bear," Luke paused to let the weight of his words sink in. "I think we can all agree that I can be very self-destructive when pushed. I don't know how I would react, but I know that it would kill me, figuratively, if not literally. I just can't defile Reid's memory in that way. He would be so disappointed in me if I imploded which would only increase my downward spiral." Luke said with tears running down his face.

Katie immediately got up and hugged Luke as tightly as she could. Casey came over and gave him a manly thump on the back.

"You can never be with Chris. I never really thought of how negatively it could affect you emotionally. I'm so sorry that I even suggested it," Katie declared. "Please forgive me."

"Dude, you've got to explain that to Chris. I'm sure that once you explain this to him he will leave you alone. If he doesn't I will explain it to the rest of my family and make sure that they keep him away from you," Casey stated emphatically.

Katie worried that Chris was far to selfish to just leave Luke alone, even though it was clearly in Luke's best interest that he do so. "I promise to run interference as well, if anyone else gives you grief about Chris, all you have to do is tell me and I will set them straight," Katie stated fiercely, knowing that above all Reid would want Luke protected. It was the least she could do to honour her best friend's memory.

Luke smiled at his friends. It felt so good to have people around him that were clearly on his side.

Katie was the first to notice that Luke looked exhausted. She quickly remarked that she needed to get home to check on Jacob. Luke smiled his thanks for her thoughtfulness and hugged her good-bye.

"And then there were two," Casey joked lightly. "Do you think that I could crash here tonight? I was planning to stay with my folks, but I am still too angry with my dad to face him. If it's a problem at all I can go stay with my Granddad," Casey added hastily not wanting to be an imposition.

"No, don't be silly. Please stay. It will be nice to have the company," Luke stated warmly. "Can I ask you for a favour though?"

"Sure" Casey replied.

"Can we just hang out and watch TV and not talk about anything emotional?"

"Thank God! I was starting to feel like a girl," Casey joked.

"Uh… Casey are you hungry? Why don't we order a pizza?"

"Pizza sounds great!"

The two friends spent the rest of the night eating pizza, cracking jokes and watching TV. It was the best night that Luke had had since Reid had died. That night Luke went to bed with a smile on his face for the first time in far, far too long.

One week later Casey went back to school and Ali in Carbondale. Luke was both sad and relieved to see Casey go. One solid week with Casey was a lot, but he was grateful that their friendship was finally back on track.

The day after Casey went home, Luke had to go to the hospital for his annual appointment with his nephrologist, Dr. Markey. The appointment went well and while he was given a requisition for blood and urine samples, if they all came back within the normal range he wouldn't have to come back for another year.

Luke was just on his way out to the parking lot when he heard his name called by a familiar voice.

Luke heaved a sigh and turned around to greet Bob Hughes.

"Luke, I was really hoping to run into you today."

"How did you know I would be here?"

"Dr. Markey and I are old friends and he mentioned that you had your yearly appointment today."

"Isn't that a breach of doctor patient confidentiality?"

"Oh no, not at all, Ron and I are old friends and he just mentioned your appointment in passing. He didn't give me any medical details at all. So I was wondering if you had time for a quick chat. I don't have an office here anymore, but I would be happy to have coffee with you in the cafeteria. What do you say?"

Luke sighed, again, "how about we walk over to Java and have coffee there. I don't like to spend anymore time than is absolutely necessary in the hospital."

"Sure, let's go to Java. The coffee is much better there than at the cafeteria anyways," Bob said, smiling at Luke.

The two men walked quickly over to Java in silence. Each man lost in his own thoughts. Luke wondered how long he would have to listen to Bob, before he could politely excuse himself and escape. Bob was busy trying to get his thoughts together so that he could present his argument quickly before Luke bolted.

When they entered Java, Bob was relieved to see that the place was nearly empty, which would allow them some privacy for their talk.

"What kind of coffee would you like, Luke?"

"Large non-fat latte with extra foam, please."

Bob quickly ordered Luke's latte and his own large regular coffee with cream and sugar.

Once they both had their drinks, Luke led them to a table that was in the corner near the door. Luke wanted to make sure that he had easy access to an exit.

"So," Bob began "I hear that Casey was in town last week and that he chose to stay with you."

"Yes he did. It was great to see Casey again. School seems to be agreeing with him, he told me that he is getting good grades and that he is really enjoying his classes."

"Yes, yes he's seems to be doing well, but that's not really what I wanted to talk to you about. Tom seems to feel that you are angry with him and that you have turned Casey against him and the rest of the family. Kim and I didn't even get to see Casey while he was here."

"I didn't ask Casey not to visit with you or anyone else in his family. I don't have that kind of power over him, or anyone else. I am angry with Tom and it was Tom's treatment of me that upset Casey. So if Tom is looking to blame someone for Casey's anger he should start by looking in the mirror. I suggest that you do the same," Luke responded starting to stand up.

Bob just gaped at Luke for a moment before realizing that Luke was about to leave "sit down Luke Snyder; I want you to explain that last remark. Why would Casey be angry with me? I have barely spoken to you in months. You behaved terribly at the opening of the new wing, you didn't even give your speech, but I covered for you and let it go because I realized that Chris's declarations must have shocked you."

Luke sat down wearily, "you really have no idea what you have done, do you? I am angry with you because of how you treated me while Reid was dying and right after he died."

"What are you talking about? I behaved professionally. I have nothing to apologize for."

"Reid was your colleague, he saw you as a mentor, and you always seemed to care about him as well. Do you have any idea what it meant to him when you recommended him for the position of chief of staff? Even when you later recommended Chris as well, he understood your position. He admired you so much that he was determined to get Chris a new heart. Yes he did it for Katie and for Chris, but he also did it largely for you. He gave his life so that Chris could live, and when he was near death, when we had our last moments together he made sure that if he was a match then Chris would have his heart. Can you even contemplate the sacrifice that he made so that your son might live?"

"Yes of course, and I am now and will always be very grateful to him."

"You say that you are grateful to him, but when he was wheeled into the hospital, no one took care of him, no one even tried. I kissed him and one of the machines started beeping and all of a sudden you and John started turning off all of the machines and Tom insisted that I sign over Reid's heart for Chris."

"Luke, I know that it was upsetting to you then and clearly it still bothers you now, but as a medical professional, I can assure you that there was nothing more that anyone could have done. Reid's death was tragic, it's always tragic when a young person dies, but it was no one's fault. Maybe Tom was a bit more aggressive with you than was absolutely necessary, but he was terribly worried about Chris. Surely, you can understand that."

"I wonder if you would feel the same way if the person who had died had been Kim. Do you think that you would be content that everything that could be done was done for her, when no one did anything? How would you feel if the doctor's just started turning off the machines that were keeping her alive, less than a minute after you had been kissing her?"

"Luke, that's not a fair comparison and you know it. Kim and I have had a lifetime together. We have children and a family. You and Reid were just getting to know each other."

Luke glared at Bob with such venom that Bob grabbed the table to steady himself.

"You're right, Bob it's not the same. It wouldn't be nearly as sad if Kim died, simply because you had all of those years together. Reid and I were just getting started. The enormity of my loss is so much greater than yours will be when Kim dies. I know that you will be sad when she dies, and I will try to treat you with more respect than what you have shown me."

"What are you talking about now? Please stop talking about Kim dying; it's painful to imagine her gone."

Luke rolled his eyes, "yes I imagine thinking about Kim's death is upsetting, think how much worse it is when the person you love is actually dead. When I said that I would try to treat you with more respect than you treated me, I meant that I might actually try to support you in your grief that I might actually come to Kim's funeral."

"You are upset because I didn't attend Reid's funeral? Chris was just recovering from surgery; surely you can understand that I needed to stand by my son?"

"Yes I know, everyone was so consumed with the drama that was Chris, which he created for himself, that no one could take even a moment to say a final thank-you and good-bye to Reid the person responsible for saving Chris's life."

"Luke, please don't try to rewrite history. You knew how thankful we all were and are that Reid was a match for Chris."

"Believe me I know that you are grateful that Reid was a match for your precious Chris, what you don't seem to comprehend was the enormity of the loss of Reid, not as an organ donor, but as a person. You treated Reid like he was just a handful of spare parts. Valuable to you only in his capacity to aid Chris, and that is a very disturbing perspective for me."

"Of course I felt the loss of Reid personally, he was a great surgeon, probably the best that I have ever seen and I think that you know how much affection I had for him personally, but people die, Luke. This is one of the harshest realities in life. People die, good people die all of the time and it is up to the living to make the best of it and move on."

"I'll try to remind you of this uplifting pep talk when Kim or any of your other family members dies," and with that he stood up and left Java. He could barely hear Bob calling after him, "Luke, you're young; you'll find someone new to love. Maybe even Chris…You've got to move on…" Luke just kept walking and didn't stop until he entered the lobby of the Lakeview and checked in.

As soon as Luke got into the room he began to pace. He was so angry that his whole body was shaking. He couldn't believe how awful his conversation with Bob had gone.

"Fuck Bob Hughes, Fuck Tom Hughes, and Fuck Chris Hughes," he practically shouted in the empty hotel room. Luke had had enough, he decided it was time for him to confront Chris and have it out once and for all.

Luke opened his phone and quickly dialled Chris's private line.

"Hello," Chris answered a little breathlessly.

"Hi Chris it's Luke," he stated coldly. "I'm at the Lakeview and I want to see you, how soon can you get here?"

"I can leave now and be there in five minutes. Do you want to meet in the lobby?"

"No, I'm in room 415, come up when you get here," Luke said slamming his phone shut.

Chris was so excited that he was going to be alone with Luke that he chose to ignore the cold tone of Luke's voice. 'He's probably just as nervous and excited as I am. Tom had seemed so discouraged after he had talked to Luke, but Dad must have really gotten through to him.' He would have to call them both later with the happy news.

Chris then packed up his office and told his secretary that he was leaving for the day.

He then headed for the parking lot and drove the very short distance to the Lakeview. He could easily have walked, but he didn't want to waste any more time.

As soon as he entered the Lakeview his level of excitement grew. He was beaming. The people around him started to give him funny looks, but Chris was too preoccupied with himself to notice. As soon as he got to the fourth floor he had to force himself not to run. As he reached room 415 he paused momentarily worried about what was going to happen next. 'What if Luke doesn't enjoy sex with me? Oh, who am I kidding everyone likes having sex with me. What if I don't like having sex with Luke? Now that was a real concern, but his heart was yammering away like crazy, so he was pretty sure that he was in store for an amazing orgasm one way or another.' He knocked on the door.

Luke answered immediately, which Chris took as a sign that Luke was just as desperate to see him as he was to see Luke.

"Come in," Luke all but commanded.

"Hi, Luke," Chris said shyly. "I was surprised, but really excited to hear from you."

"Uh huh," Luke answered coldly. "So I heard that you wanted to have sex with me. Is that true?"

"Yes," Chris answered taken slightly aback. He hadn't expected Luke to be so direct, he had thought that Luke would try to romance him, at least a little bit, but maybe men didn't need that sort of thing.

"So do you want to fuck me or do you want me to fuck you?" Luke asked in that same cold tone.

"Uh…is there a difference?" Chris asked starting to feel a little uncomfortable.

Luke rolled his eyes at Chris. "Yes there is definitely a difference. I'll ask you an easier question. What exactly do you want to do to me?"

All of a sudden Chris's heart started beating like crazy and he could hear Reid's voice say all of these things in his head. Words like suck you, eat you and fuck you kept repeating in his head as if they were on a loop.

"Uh…I guess I want to do all the things that Reid and you did together," Chris answered lamely.

"Well that's not possible because Reid and I never had sex."

"Oh, of course not, I just meant that we could make love the same way that you two did," Chris said apologetically and immediately knew that he had said the wrong thing when he heard Reid cackle inside his head.

"Christ you're an idiot," Chris heard a voice say and he wasn't entirely sure if it was Luke's or Reid's or quite possibly both.

"I don't understand what you're saying."

"Reid and I never had the chance to actually have sex. We would get close and something would always get in the way. I'm sure that we would have had amazing sex when he returned with your donor heart if he hadn't been killed."

"Oh my God" was all that Chris could respond with.

"So Chris what exactly do you want to do to me?"

Again the visions returned and he kept hearing Reid say 'suck me, suck me, suck me.'

"I'd like you to suck me," Chris whispered, looking at Luke's mouth and thinking he might actually enjoy it.

"So you want me to put your penis in my mouth and suck you off?" Luke asked to clarify.

"Yes" was all that Chris could answer as the word was reverberating throughout his head in Reid's voice.

"What are you going to do for me? Are you going to suck my dick at the same time?"

"Yes" screamed Reid inside Chris's head. "No" is what Chris replied. He hadn't actually thought too much about Luke's penis, but he knew that he didn't want it in his mouth.

"Did you want to give me a hand job?"

"Yes" was Reid's enthusiastic response. "Maybe," was Chris's more tepid one. He'd never touched another man's penis, but he had had plenty of experience with his own so he felt fairly confident that he could touch Luke's.

"Do you want me to eat your ass? Stick my wet tongue in your hole and begin to stretch you out?"

"Yes, yes, yes," was Reid's reply and the feelings of arousal and excitement suddenly swept through Chris's body and he heard himself say "yes" breathlessly.

"So you want me to fuck you, then. You want me to put one, two and then three fingers in your ass and stretch you out so that you're ready to take in my huge, throbbing cock?"

"Yeeesssssss" came Reid's response. Chris started to say yes as he was swept away by the feelings of desire converging on his ever hardening dick, "wait, what do you mean stretch me out, why would you have to stretch me?"

Luke just stared at Chris "are you insane? Do you have any idea how much it would hurt if I rammed my rock hard cock up your ass without preparing you first? Have you ever had anything up your ass before?"

"Like what?"

"Your fingers, someone else's fingers a dildo, anything?"

"No, no of course not," he said somewhat indignantly.

"Well then you need to be prepared, it's going to hurt no matter what, but without preparation it will hurt like hell."

"What do you mean it's going to hurt? Sex shouldn't hurt it's supposed to feel good."

"It does feel good, but pain is part of it. Haven't you thought about what sex with me would actually be like?"

"No, not really, does it hurt for both of you, maybe I should have the other role."

"So you want to eat my ass, prepare me with your tongue and then with your fingers and then ram your cock up my ass?"

"Oh God, Yesssssssss" was Reid's reply. "You want me to put my tongue in your asshole? Is that even sanitary? Ew, I don't think so," Chris said feeling his cock deflate.

"So really you don't want to have sex with me then do you Chris?"

"I don't know, this is all so new to me. Reid is really into all of it. You should hear how excited he is inside my head. Maybe we could just start slowly so I could get used to all of this. I don't want to lose you. This is all just so overwhelming for me. Weren't you scared at all when it was your first time?"

"Yes, Chris I was scared, I think that everyone is, gay or straight. All new experiences are scary, but I was curious and not disgusted by any of it. The look on your face when I suggested that you lick my ass was pure disdain. You're not gay, Chris."

"Well then what am I? I'm not straight either. I could barely touch Katie after Reid's heart took over. I don't want to be with anyone but you. I feel warm inside every time that I think about you. I dream about you all the time. I was so excited when you called me today. If we take it slowly I'm sure that I could get used to the physical side of things. I'm sure that I would enjoy a blow job from you." Chris felt himself harden at the idea of Luke's mouth wrapped around him; he decided that he should take off his pants so that Luke could see his prize.

"What are you doing? Keep your pants on. I am not going to blow you, not now and not ever. I was never going to have sex with you, Chris."

"Then why did you ask me to come here?"

"I wanted to talk to you and I wanted to see how far I could push you. Why you would think that I would want to be with someone who was simply putting up with the physical side of things is beyond me. I have been there and it's not healthy for me and it wouldn't be healthy for you either.

"I don't want any sort of relationship with you. I am simply not capable of the level of betrayal having a relationship with you would be to Reid."

"Reid? Reid wants you to be with me, he must otherwise I wouldn't be feeling what I'm feeling."

"I think that you're wrong. You took everything from Reid, first his help, then his life, then his heart and finally his job. If you took me as well there would be nothing of value of his that you hadn't taken. I can't be a part of that."

"Then why is his heart torturing me in this way? Why won't he just let me go?"

"I think that he's doing it for me. He would never have chosen to leave me behind and alone. Reid truly loved me and he would want me to be happy and complete. The fact that it's torturing you and making your life hell is just a bonus for him."

As Luke spoke to Chris he felt an overwhelming warmth encircle his body, it was as though Reid were standing behind him hugging him tightly. At that moment Luke knew that Reid would always be with him and that he would be okay.

Chris heard the words that Luke said and heard Reid laugh out loud in his head. At that moment he knew that Luke was right. Reid was fucking with him and wasn't about to let go.

"Good-bye Chris," Luke said, dismissing the other man.

"What? How do I get Reid to leave me alone? I want to have a full life? I want to fall in love with someone the way that Reid fell in love with you? How can I do that with him inside my head, fucking with my emotions?"

"I don't know Chris. You're going to have to work that out on your own. You took everything from Reid; you even tried to take me, why would you expect him to have any sympathy for you?"

"It's not fair, Luke, it's not fair."

Luke just laughed, "go talk to Bob about this. I'm sure he'll be ever so helpful about the fairness of this situation. Now please leave, and don't send any more of your family members to talk to me. We're done."

"Good-bye Luke," Chris said as he exited the hotel room. Chris realized that he no longer felt the pull towards Luke; instead what he felt was empty, almost dead inside. He had a terrible feeling that Luke was right. Reid was fucking with him for fun and the torture was not nearly over.

Two months later, Luke packed up his car and waved good-bye to his family and headed to Boston. He had felt it necessary to start a new life, and Boston seemed like the perfect place for him. After all that was where Reid was from. As he drove away, he had a big smile on his face as he heard Reid say, "come on Snyder, let's go home."


End file.
